Short-Term Disability (STD)

Benefit eligibility for:

Short-term disability (STD) supports employees who are unable to work due to injury or illness. This benefit offers income replacement for qualifying periods of absence.

Adjunct Faculty

When Does a Short-Term Disability Exist?

A short-term disability exists when an employee is absent from work due to illness/injury and is under the care of a physician. There is a seven-day waiting period for which no benefits are paid. Benefits begin on the eighth consecutive day of disability. A “day of disability” is a day on which you were prevented from performing work because of disability. You are ineligible for disability benefits if you perform any type of work for which you receive wages or profit, even if performed at home.

Eligibility and STD Coverage

Requirement: Current employment as Adjunct Faculty for at least 30 days
Benefit Amount: 50% of current weekly wages up to a maximum of $600 per week
Maximum Benefit Period: Thirteen (13) weeks
Waiting Period: Seven (7) consecutive days

How to Apply for STD

The Office of Human Resources must be notified when you are absent five (5) or more scheduled working days.

Reach out to your department (chair or dean) to advise of your leave and to be paid any accrued sick time for the elimination period—seven (7) scheduled working calendar days following the start of disability.

Initiate a claim by creating one online at Sun Life Account or by calling 800.247.6875.
Sun Life sends an email to Adelphi notifying them of an employee setting up a disability claim and to confirm the last day worked.
Once it is established that a claim for disability exists, Sun Life will contact your physician to get the appropriate medical information. This discussion determines the length of the disability and the return-to-work options.
Once approved, Sun Life pays the adjunct faculty member directly and removes them from Adelphi University’s payroll.

Please keep the Office of Human Resources and your department chair or dean informed as to when you can return to work so that you can be returned to Adelphi University’s payroll.

Additional Resources for Adjunct Faculty

Sun Life Account Member Registration Guide

Short Term Disability for Adjunct Faculty Policy

Adjunct Faculty: How to File Your STD Claim

Non-union Staff and Public Safety

Eligibility and STD Coverage

Eligibility: All non-union and public safety employees after four (4) consecutive weeks of employment or twenty days of employment, and for four consecutive weeks after termination of employment.
Benefit Amount: 50% of eligible earnings
Maximum Benefit Period: Up to 26 weeks
Waiting Period: Five (5) consecutive working days

How Will Your Salary be Affected

Eligible employees will be paid full salary for the first five days that they were scheduled to be at work as sick time, if the employee has sick time available.

As of the sixth consecutive day out we will pay half (½) disability pay and we will supplement pay with any sick, personal time, and any accrued vacation time that may be remaining. Once the employee’s paid time off is exhausted we will pay half (½) disability pay only.

Short term disability payments are paid through Adelphi University’s payroll once the claim is approved by NY Life. All taxes, benefits and 403(b) contributions will continue to be deducted.

How to Apply for STD

The Office of Human Resources must be notified when you are absent more than five consecutive dates. We will then notify you to contact NY Life to report the claim.
Advise NY Life at 800.362.4462 that you are an Adelphi University employee. We will then send a Family Medical Leave letter to notify you that upon approval of the disability claim, the leave will be designated as a Family Medical Leave as well.
To ensure your short term disability payments will continue, you will need to make sure NY LIFE receives updated medical notes from your physician’s office after each visit. If required medical information is not received, NY LIFE will consider the disability period has ended and will close the claim.

FAQs for Non-union Staff and Public Safety

When you start your leave on or after the 15th of the month, you will be eligible for vacation accrual for that month.
When you return from leave on or after the 15th of the month, you are not eligible for vacation accrual for that month.

Once you are on a disability leave, you are not eligible for holiday or inclement weather days. Your short term disability payments, including any accrued time payments, will continue on any day Adelphi may be closed.

An eligible employee who has been employed for at least 12 months and who has worked 1,250 hours during the 12-month period prior to the start of a leave period will qualify for FMLA job protection. An eligible employee will be allowed to take 12 weeks of leave during any 12-month period.

We will send a Family Medical Leave letter to notify you (if eligible) that, upon approval of the short term disability claim, the leave will be designated as a Family Medical Leave as well.

See Family and Medical Leave Act for additional information.

NY PFL does not cover your own serious health condition. As such, you may not receive both disability benefits (your own serious health condition) and NY PFL benefits for the same period. If taken separately, both cannot exceed 26 weeks during the same year.

You must supplement NY PFL with unused personal and unused accrued vacation days.

If you are eligible for FMLA, it will run concurrently with NY PFL. If you decline NY PFL payments while using FMLA, the leave will still be counted against your NY PFL benefit time.

NY PFL payments will begin (if eligible) after short term disability payments end.

See New York State Mandated Paid Family Leave for additional information.

If you become disabled again due to the same condition within 90 consecutive days, short term disability payments will continue under the original claim. You will not be required to satisfy a new elimination period which is five (5) consecutive working days.

If you become disabled after 90 consecutive days a new claim and elimination period, which is five (5) consecutive working days, will be required.

Adelphi University’s short term disability policy does not provide for partial disability benefits. You must be able to return to work with no restrictions.

Subject to your supervisor’s approval and the needs of your department, a modified work schedule may be arranged on a short-term basis, i.e. two weeks.